Ballarat tournament set to be best in decades

THE inaugural Ballarat AMT Gold Pro Tournament kicks off tomorrow, and tournament director Rob Benoit says it could be the best contest the region has seen in decades.

The Tennis Australia gold-rated tournament will attract players from all over Victoria, Australia and internationally and will include a number of qualifying rounds, with eight spots for qualifiers to progress to the main draw starting on Friday.

The top 16 seeded players will join the qualifiers in the main draw, with the top eight seeds to play their first match in the second round, with the other eight competing against the eight from the qualifying rounds.

Ballarat Regional Tennis Centre manager and tournament director Rob Benoit said there hasn’t been a tournament of this calibre in the region for 20 years.